While most people expect falling prices, consumer electronics makers scramble to add features to justify constant or higher prices. This is no different for this particular player. Let’s tale a look at the improvements: Picture-in-Picture (also called “bonus view”), read error correction (scratched discs), Ethernet access for firmware and other updates and an upscaling algorithm called “Precision Cinema HD Upscale” to nicely magnify standard-definition content to HDTV resolutions. “We leveraged our expertise in film production and digital technology to build a machine that movie fans would truly love,” says Chris Fawcett, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics’ Home Products Division.
Let’s skip the marketing spin here: yes Sony does have proprietary algorithms for upscaling (so do Samsung and many CE manufacturers), but I think that this has little to do with “leveraging the expertise in film production”. My advice: buy a lower-price player or a Playstation 3.
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